Clumsy with chopsticks but can't live without them... ** I don't post English translations of Japanese recipes without permissions from the recipe authors. But feel free to contact me about the dishes you're interested in.

Favorite Foodblogs

About Me

"OBACHAN" means a "middle-aged woman" or "aunty" in Japanese.
.*************************. Having moved back to my hometown in April 2009, I live in one of the desperately underpopulated areas in Japan now. Let me share my life in a real countryside with aging parents living in the same house. And here in Muroto -- the place where I chose to live -- you can hear the heartbeat of the Earth! ;)

My Other Blogs

Special Thanks to:

The contents of this blog created by me (text/comments and photos) are licensed under a Creative Commons License. Copyrights of free web graphics used in this site and comments made by others belong to the creators of those works.

Sunday, October 09, 2005

Ask someone in Kochi city this question, “Do you like imoten sold at the Sunday market?” You’ll quite likely get, “Oh yeah! I love it!” type of response with a heartwarming smile on his/her face.

This everyone’s favorite, "imoten" is simple batter-fried sweet potatoes. “Imo” means potatoes and “ten” came from tempura. It’s the kind of food that is so simple and yet so good that you never get tired of. I can’t help craving for it once in a while. (Well, maybe twice a month.) Preparation is awfully easy -- all you have to do is to peel and chop up sweet potatoes, dip in batter and deep-fry. That’s it. But It’s also the kind of food that anyone can make at home but often ends up saying, “But I can’t do it like they do.”

Walking through the Sunday market, you can find a stall where they deep-fry imoten (and other kind of tempura, too) right in front of you and sell them hot. When locals in Kochi say “Sunday market imoten,” it means the ones sold at this stall.

I guess the secret of the great taste is the kind of sweet potatoes they use. Imoten from this stall is soooo sweet and ”hoku-hoku.” (How can I explain “hoku-hoku” in English? It’s not just “dry,” I suppose.) I also assume that they add something to the batter to make it slightly sweet and a bit chewy but not too heavy. Maybe sugar and possibly a bit of soy sauce as a hidden flavor?? I don’t know…

The lady at the stall told me that they have been selling imoten for about 30 years at the Sunday/Thursday market. Their imoten is widely known now, being included in many guidebooks and websites, and you often see customers standing in line in front of the stall.It's just something you don't want to miss.

KT121I heard that some people add a little mayonnaise to tempura batter to make it crispy, but I don’t think that’d make it sweeter. Anyway, I’m glad to find another person who feels the same way about the Japanese word, “hoku-hoku.” I sometimes say “chestnut-like”to explain what "hoku-hoku" means, but I always feel that’s not exactly it…

Bachan!Mmmm...imoten looks delicious. We have imoten too in Malaysia. They are usually sold at the fried banana stalls and eaten during tea time as a snack. Overhere, the Sweet potatoes are thinly sliced, dipped in batter and fried. The batter is on the crunchy side...

I know what you mean by hoku hoku. But I also have difficulty to find the right english word for it... tender maybe? or soft and moist?al dente? LOL

Hi Kiarill,Thanks for your comment. I want to try your imoten someday (I'm really thinking about visiting Singapore someday). Yeah, hoku-hoku, can be like chestnut, except that I think chestnut is a bit chewier than "hoku-hoku" sweet potatoes. Anyway, hope you have a chance to visit Japan and have a good time. ;)